we are back now with more of "today" on a tuesday morning, the 1st of may, 2012. and just a chance to say hi to some of the nice people who kind of waited out some bad weather here in the northeast, to improving conditions here. we thank them for sticking around. i'matt lauer along with ann curry, al roker, and savannah guthrie. and coming up, it seems like it could be another dramatic day in the trial of john edwards. >> that's right. because the wife of the government's star witness is back on the stand today, and -- and she was brought to tears during testimony on monday. we're going to show you how she reacted to being told that edwards wanted her husband to falsely claim to be the father of rielle hunter's child.

that's coming up in a live report this morning. >> also ahead, we're going to answer your diet and nutrition questions. joy bauer is going to answer questions about whether it's okay to serve your child foods that have either caffeine or alcohol in them. like a pasta sauce, or coffee ice cream. she'll also tackle the issue of what to do about boredom eating. something we can all relate to. and then the health benefits of macca root. >> it's a dance craze from the '90s. >> macarena. >> and one of my all-time favorite sports, bulk shopping. those big box stores. but is it really, are you getting the most bang for your buck? warehouse shopping popular, a third of all americans belong to a big box club. but do you really need a 200 count bag of pigs in a blanket? >> yes! >> answer in the affirmative there. >> we'll let you know. what you should spend your money on in those stores. >> all right.

let's go inside, natalie is standing by at the news desk with a look at the headlines. >> good morning to you once again. good morning, everyone. president obama is calling the anniversary of osama bin laden's death a time to reflect, not to celebrate. some critics are saying the commander in chief is using the opportunity, though, to question whether or not the al qaeda leader would be dead if mitt romney were president. meantime counterterrorism officials are making the most public acknowledgment yet of the program of drone strikes to take out al qaeda targets. u.s. relations with china are being put to the test as negotiations to secure the freedom of a blind dissident have yet to reach a resolution. officials on both sides of the talks are refusing to comment on the delicate situation. meantime, secretary of state hillary clinton arrived in beijing tonight for a prescheduled visit, making u.s. officials pushing to finalize an agreement before she touches down. the wife of the government's star witness returns to the stand today in the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards. nbc's lisa myers is comping the

trial in greensboro, north carolina. good morning to you, this la. >> hey, natalie, good morning. cheri young, mother of three, became so upset on monday that jurors were asked to leave the courthouse. she talked about how far her family had gone to cover up john edwards' affair, and charged that edwards was involved every step of the way in arranging the money and in orchestrating the lies. it was cheri young's turn in the spotlight. in a dramatic, sometimes cheerful testimony, she described her anger about how she, as the wife of campaign aide andrew young, got pulled in to the effort to cover up john edwards' affair with rielle hunter. she said she was intimidated when she first met hunter, because i had a presidential candidate's pregnant mistress come into my house last minute. and she says she wasn't happy when asked to handle hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks

to take care of hunter. i cannot tell you how disgusted i was. why me? she said she insisted on talking to edwards directly. i heard mr. john edwards tell me on the phone he had checked with the campaign lawyers, and this was not a campaign donation, and this was legal. get the money in. get the money in. those were his words, she testified. >> cheri young has been a strong witness for the government because she's come across as genuine. she's put edwards back in the middle of the cover-up plot. >> reporter: cheri young broke into tears recounting how her husband came to her and said edwards wanted him, andrew young, to falsely claim paternity of hunter's child. i said, absolutely not. i screamed at him, cursed at him. she testified that edwards argued that if andrew claims paternity, it would be a one-day story. she said she eventually went along with the lie. i didn't want the campaign to explode and for it to be my fault, she said.

the government alleges that money used to cover up the affair amounted to illegal campaign contributions to edwards. a charge he denies. >> it did become clear that cheri young hates two people. she wore that on her sleeve on the stand. she hates john edwards and she hates rielle hunter. >> reporter: cheri young portrayed hunter as a flamboyant, demanding flake who upon arriving at the home did a big twirl and announced, i am here. young testified hunter also insisted on money to pay her spiritual adviser in addition to her $5,000 to $11,000 monthly allowance. at some point today, young is expected to face tougher questions. though she may have been reluctant to handle the money for hunter, the youngs did not seem to have any trouble spending it. in fact, 80% of the money raised for the alleged cover-up was pocketed by the youngs. natalie? >> lisa myers in greensboro,

covering the trial for us. thank you. new research suggests the benefits of a mammogram every other year outweigh the potential harm for women in their 40s who have an increased breast cancer risk. the study in the annals of internal medicine also find that digital mammography screening results in substantially more false positive results than film. meantime, another new study finds the number of babies in the u.s. born with signs of drug withdrawal has tripled in a decade, because more pregnant women are using illegal narcotics and prescription painkillers. an incredible discovery on a remote island off the western coast of canada. a beach riddled with debris from last year's japanese tsunami turned up a giant white box. a local man came across it and peeked inside and he found a harley-davidson motorcycle, perfectly intact although rusting. japanese authorities are now trying to find out who the motorcycle belongs to and whether or not he or she is alive. and it's rush hour in antarctica. check out these penguins going for the high jump back onto a

massive iceberg. it all looks like fun and games but they're actually trying to get out of the way of dozens of hungry killer whales on the hunt below. you would jump very high, too. seven minutes past the hour right now. let's go outside to al with a check of your weather. >> that's pretty cool stuff right there. a senior trip. where you guys from? >> florida. >> all right. what school are your from? >> walton high school. >> having a good time? >> oh, yeah. >> oh, yeah! they're like kool-aid. oh, yeah! let's show you what we've got going on for you today. we do have the rain moving through the northeast. that's the good news. it will be out of here in new england later on this morning. we do have a lot of heavy rain continuing down in southern florida. more snow for the pacific northwest, mountains there. look for a risk of some strong storms. much of minnesota into the mid-mississippi river valley. >> good morning.

the rain showers will taper off as we go through the morning. there could be another batch of thunderstorms developin >> that's your latest weather. savannah? >> thanks, al. this morning on joy's diet s.o.s., answers to your daily diet dilemmas. joy bauer is here to discuss everything from when it's okay to give your kids food that contain caffeine to how to best avoid boredom eating. she's the author of "the joy fit club." good morning. >> good morning. >> our first caller is on the phone, linda from woodlands, texas. good morning, what's your question for joy? >> good morning. is it okay to occasionally feed our children food that includes coffee or alcohol, for example,

coffee ice cream, or sauces, including white or red wine? >> so it's going to depend on how old your kids are, how sensitive their bodies are, and whether or not they're taking certain medications that could trigger a negative response. in that case you could certainly talk with your pharmacists. but in general, when it comes to coffee flavored foods, the caffeine content varies tremendously. when it comes to the coffee flavored candies, it's really an insignificant amount of cough even if and that's going to be totally fine. in case you're wondering, coffee cake, actually has no coffee in it. it's only named that because you're supposed to eat a slice when you have a cup of coffee. when it comes to coffee ice cream, it's a whole other story. one cup will range in caffeine from 50 to 90 milligrams. that's like drinking half to three quarters of a cup. i would say if your kids are ung i would lay off the coffee ice cream. when it comes to wine in sauces, if you're serving them to your kids, the longer you simmer the sauce, the more alcohol you'll boil off.

so ideally you want to simmer it for at least 30 minutes. or, just swap out the wine for low sodium broth and then you just play it safe. i hope that helps. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. i don't know if wine is better than low sodium broth. >> you're an adult so you can actually add extra wine. >> let's get to our next caller, laura in michigan. good morning. what's your question for joy? >> hi. i'm really struggling with boredom feeting and getting up in the night and eating and i also have an intense potato chip/peanut weakness. and i was wondering if you have any suggestions to combat this or healthy, low calorie alternatives? >> first you have good taste. potato chips and peanuts. the first line of defense is to get the potato chips and peanuts completely out of your house. i feel like you put yourself at an unfair disadvantage when they're front and center. and next, i think this is a really cool strategy that was offered up from one of the joy fit club members. i think it's going to work great for you.

you're going to create a bag of distractions. so that means you're going to take a bag and fill it with note cards that list activities that you can do during the day, or during the evening, that will distract you from eating. so for example, it may say e-mail three friends. or brush and floss your teeth. or read a chapter of a book. or sip a caffeine free cup of tea. but the idea is when you have that urge to nibble in between meals you reach into the bag of distractions, you read the activity, you do it and by the time you're done with that activity there's a really good chance the impulse to eat will subside. >> all right. laura, hope that answers your question. i recently gave up peanut butter. >> it's hard. >> we have a viewer e-mail. carolyn in new york. she writes i've been hearing a lot about the maca root and all of its amazing health benefits. what exactly is it and is there any truth to these claims? >> maca is getting huge buzz right now. basically it's a radish family, it's a root and grows in south america. and they're selling it now in

pill form or powder form that you can add into juice or smoothie or even oatmeal. there's a handful of trials that show that it may, in fact, help to -- enhance your sex drive. and also, companies and websites are touting that it can help alleviate menopause symptoms or increase your exercise endurance, even build muscle growth and also there's one other thing, offer some cancer benefits. but, you have to take all of this with a grain of salt. because to date there's not any sound scene tifric backing that would cause me to advise people to use it as an actual health treatment. there's really not a downside, so if you do want to try it at the very least you're probably going to get a shot of fiber. >> speaking of fiber. our last one, lois in new york wondered which bread choice is better, slice of whole wheat bread or multigrain bread? >> great question. although they both sound incredibly healthy there could be refined flour mixed in. so your absolute best solution

is to look for on that label, 100% whole wheat or 100% whole grain and then you are guaranteed that every single flour in that loaf is whole grain and totally good for you. >> 100%. joy bauer, thanks so much. coming up next, saving your money when you hit the big box stores. we're going to tell you which foods are best bought in bulk. >> and then while you're out shopping don't forget, mother's day just around the corner from the foodie to the fashionista, jill martin has some great gift ideas for moms. i'm gonna make you breakfast. what? with magic. you are? see the egg? uh huh. so, look at the orange. now close your eyes. ♪ alakazaam! [ sighs ] you're good. and now i'm gonna make this flower bloom. presto. "love you lots." do you want to see it again? yes, i want to see it again! [ female announcer ] hallmark blooming expressions delivers your love again and again.

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"today's money" is brought to you by bank of america. >> this morning on "today's

money," the best foods to buy in bulk. more than 100 million of us belong to a warehouse club, and with thousands of products lining the shelves, there's a lot of temptation out there. farnoosh torabi is a personal finance expert and host of financially fit on yahoo finance. >> good morning, al. >> you talk about bulk, but yet, there are certain items you should think about, others you shouldn't. how did you decide, determine which ones are the best? >> so, my team at yahoo finance and i, we hit the bulk stores and went in with a list of specific items we wanted to price check and compared those prices to the identical items found at neighboring grocery stores, big box stores, pharmacies, to see actually what are the best bulk bargains. we only looked at food that wouldn't necessarily perish. particularly pantry items. remember prices do vary by region. we checked in new jersey. >> you said the first thing you need to go is the cost per unit? >> you have to do the math. this is the first step. a lot of times you'll find the

cost per unit right on the shelf below the item. what this will tell you is what this costs per unit. if you're buying a ten pound bag of popcorn for ten bucks it's $1 per pound. >> again, you say you've got to think about how long is this going to last, either in my pantry or in my refrigerator. >> you have to think about your use. your consumption. so rule of thumb, if this is something that is perishable like fruit or vegetables, you know, do you really want to buy a 50 pound crate of it? you know, that's a little -- >> could you freeze it? >> and that's the better tip. if you want to get something that is potentially perishable, buy it in a frozen version, and that way you'll be able to save more money. >> you also say stick with the list. >> stick with the list because what happens is, i'm guilty of this, you go to the bulk store and they're giving you little samples, and you're like yeah, i could totally see like a three pound box of this in my pantry. >> i need these won tons. >> i need these, and you bring it home, maybe your kids don't like it or you have buyer's res'mores. if you like something you're

trying for the first time get a smaller version next door. >> go with a friend. shop with a bulk buddy, as i say, because this way, you know, you can sort of shop with more peace of mind. you can buy the perishables, split the item and split the savings. >> that's a great idea. first up, cereal. >> across the board, whether you're a frosted flakes fan or cheerios fan we found cereal is cheaper at the warehouse clubs, up to 60% less, in fact. you can get a 64 ounce box of cereal for, you know, very little. and again, the drugstore was actually the worst place to buy cereal, we found. and we didn't look at anything that had a coupon or a sale. >> okay. also you say ground coffee is pretty good. >> if you're making your coffee at home you're a winner. but if you want to go an extra step and save more, go with bulk ground coffee, you can save as much as 50% shopping at a bulk store. >> and you also say, especially if you're having a party, stock up on frozen appetizers. >> yell, yeah, because frozen as we know, we discussed earlier, is a smart way to go. but whether you're getting pigs in the blanket or baby quiches

or bagel bites you're going to save a lot more buying them at the warehouse club. >> and if folks pop over unexpectedly, you've got the stuff. >> hey, party at al's house. >> yeah, raise the roof. extra virgin olive oil. >> if you are a -- you love to cook. only if you love to cook this is going to be worth it for you. you can save about 15% to 30% buying extra virgin olive oil at the warehouse club. and olive oil is versatile. you can use it to cook but also dip bread in it. so, again, this is a smart buy. >> pet food in bulk. great deal, but you don't want to overfeed. >> don't overfeed your pet. no. we found this 50 pound bag of dry dog food for much less at the warehouse club, versus pet stores. but we overfeed our pets. so if you want to keep them healthy, just be moderate with that big bag of dog food. don't go overboard. >> this one for kathie lead and hoda, buying wine at warehouse stores can save you money. costco is the largest retailer of wine in this country. >> so much to save. you don't have to buy these in

bulk. you can buy a single bottle of wine. you can save about 15% to 30% compared to your local liquor store or online. so go at it. >> all right. farnoosh torabi, thanks so much. and coming up, the story behind the dramatic jet crash in the middle of the desert. all part of a planned experiment. good science? good show? neither? both? we'll take a look. but first these messages. i love cash back. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, we earn more cash back for the things we buy most. 1% cash back everywhere, every time. 2% on groceries. 3% on gas. automatically. no hoops to jump through. no annual fee. that's 1% back on... wow! 2% on my homemade lasagna. 3% back on [ friends ] road trip!!!!!!!!!!!! [ male announcer ] get 1-2-3 percent cash back. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ♪ that's been wrapped in a flaky crust stuffed with a gooey center

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is a wbal-tv 11 news update. >> good morning. as we head through the rest of the day, we might get a peak of sunshine. 30% or 4% chance of a shower or thunderstorm in the forecast. upper 70's to near 80. mid-70's tomorrow. back into the low 80s understand friday.

me being off of narcotics for the last seven years, i felt that she was, you know -- i didn't know she was struggling with it still. but at the same time, you know, it's a hard fight. >> bobby brown opening up to matt in his first interview since the untimely death of his ex-wife, whitney houston. they were married for 14 tumultuous years. the r&b singer had some rather surprising things to say about their relationship and their daughter, bobbi kristina. we'll have that exclusive interview with bobby brown tomorrow only on "today." >> all right. we'll look forward to that. and then just ahead, was it a stunt or was it science? a team recently brought down this 727 jetliner on purpose for

a television documentary. no one was hurt, but was it worth it to see something so drastic for the cameras? we're going to tell you what some critics have to say about that. >> all right. and then we are celebrating mom this morning, with mother's day less than two weeks away. for mother/daughter fashions to jewelry and edible gifts, jill martin has found some terrific gift ideas any mom would love. also any mom would appreciate a break from the kitchen and have breakfast waiting for her this mother's day. >> hint hint. >> real big hint there. from white chocolate waffles to quiche florentine and bananas ginger sticky buns. that will get your mouth water using this morning. we've got sweet and savory recipes that are easy to whip up. let's just go right now. >> we don't need weather. let's do the weatherish- >> let's just look at the sticky buns. we don't need to show them that. as we check out your forecast for you, for "today" we do have the risk of severe weather stretching from minnesota in to the mid-mississippi river valley. mountain snows in the pacific

northwest. sunshine and warm today. temperatures in the upper 80s through the southeast. gulf coast into the southwest, temperatures will be in the 90s. some, that risk of strong stor s s stays up into the mississippi and upper mississippi river valley. rain along the pacific northwest coast. showers continue in the northeast with thunderstorms and heat continues through the southwest, and more rain along the gulf coast in to southern florida. >> good morning. the showers will taper off as we go through the morning. there could be another batch of thunderstorms developing late in >> and that's your latest weather. >> al, thank you. well you've seen them whittle

away right before your very eyes. so will it be kim the former pro wrestler or the last team standing, conda and her brother jeremy? it's anybody's guess who will be crowned the biggest loser on tonight's finale. allison sweeney is the host. alison, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> i know you're not going to tell us who you think is going to win. let's talk about kim. she's in the lead. she lost about 42% of her body weight. could that somewhat work against her or do you think she really is the contender to beat? >> you said you're celebrating moms this morning. i've got two moms as members of the final three who are incredible and kim certainly is that. she has transformed her entire body. we watched it happen on camera during the season. so, while she absolutely has the willpower of steel, and i would never count this woman out, the question becomes does she have more weight to lose and time to get ready for tonight's finale? you know, i don't want to count her out because she's a rock star, and she blew us away at

every weigh-in. so yes, i have to think she's got a chance to do it. >> alison, what about conda? she's very outspoken, lost a third of her weight. but her brother jeremy, not so much. what do you think her chances? >> she's got a chance because again, i think she has something to prove. conda is a mother of a very, young, beautiful daughter and she has a great determination, and i think she feels a little bit like her brother helped her through the season, or she thinks that's her perception. so if anything she's going to work so hard to prove that she deserves to be there and standing on her own two feet. >> and speaking of jeremy, how do you think he stacks up against the competition? >> i mean i think in some ways you could say by the number s he's the one to beat. jeremy has the weight to lose, he stayed steady throughout the entire season. he does still have weight to get off. the question is, did he have enough time to do it? because it really wasn't that long. it's been about two months since our last episode so he had to really push hard to make sure that he could get up and compete with kim, who was the biggest loser on campus. so he does have the weight to

lose, but man that would have taken iron will to make it happen. but we saw at that last challenge that he wants to be a member of the final three. he worked hard to make it happen. and so that's it. we're going to see tonight. i'm very excited. >> by the way, congratulations to you, as well, on the cover of "shape" magazine. i know you dropped more than 20 pounds so you, too, are the biggest loser. >> wowza. >> it's hard to get over, you know, having a kid, man, it changes your body. so it took a long time to get my body back. >> you look amazing. and you're an inspiration to everyone. by the way the live season finale as we mentioned of "the biggest loser" airs tonight, 8:00, 7:00 central right here on nbc. tomorrow we're going to have the winner right here in studio 1a. >> less of the winner. and still ahead your mother's day gift guide. jill martin has some great ideas. you think you take off all your make-up before bed.

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we're back now with a passengerer jet that was crushed deliberately in the mexican desert. >> it was for a new documentary on air safety. but some critics are raising serious questions about the experiment. >> here's nbc's gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: a terrifying sight, a boeing 727 on a crash course over a mexican desert. amateur video captures the moment of impact. the dust cloud. and the plane skidding to a stop. only this plunge last friday was intentional. >> my sense is this is a reality show disguised as an educational effort trying to get ratings, pushing the envelope. >> reporter: in the video posted on youtube you can see a helicopter with a film crew follow the plane's descent. minutes after its pilot parachuted to safety. it's all part of a discovery channel documentary, exploring

how aircraft withstand impact. the 170-passenger plane had crash test dummies and dozens of cameras inside. discovery says it hopes to provide new information about how to improve the chances of survival. but some aviation experts are skeptical. they point out the filmmakers didn't invite the faa, the national transportation safety board, or the airplane manufacturer to the crash site. >> this would have been a perfect, golden opportunity, to allow the industry to collect valuable data. and i don't think discovery or any of the folks that may have participated in this really were equipped to collect. >> reporter: discovery insists it was not a stunt. that the team included leading scientists and veteran crash investigators, and that the project underwent a full safety review by pilots and mexican authorities. still, this is the first such experiment since 1984, when nasa and the faa crashed a jet into the mojave desert in california. the resulting inferno helped establish new rules on fire

prevention. but when fox planned to do the same thing for a tv special in 1999, the network scrapped the idea. >> the faa doesn't want people just out there crashing airplanes for sensationalist reasons. >> reporter: as for this latest crash, discovery says it won't release the official footage until the documentary airs later this year. viewers may then decide whether the plunge was indeed for science, or for show. for "today," gabe gutierrez, nbc news, los angeles. >> think that will be a highly rated show. >> i would think so. >> chilling to see that happen, though. well we'll move on. coming up next you can show mom how much you love her with the perfect present for mother's day. some great ideas, too. ♪ here you go. [ male announcer ] people everywhere are helping save trees in just 4 weeks... uh...mom? ...without even noticing. as the world's first line of hybrid paper products,

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"today's" rule is brought to you by tropicana. tap into nature. >> this morning on mom's rule today, and every day, mother's day gifts, whether you want to buy her some bling, bags or baked goodies, "today" and "us weekly" contributor jill martin is here with the perfect presents to show mom how much she is loved and appreciated. >> good morning. >> got a lot of fun things to get through. let's talk first with the foodie mom. you have a grouping of all these fantastic gifts you can get your mom. starting first with these delicious cookies call the conversation cookie. >> that's right. and i do not cook so this is the perfect gift, if you're like me and you just want to send, starting at $24.50. they have all different packages. you can also personalize. this is i love mom. they have spa day. come beautifully wrapped. great gift. >> these personalized aprons, also salt and pepper shakers?

>> aren't these great? you can put your name on it. starting at dg 32. you can get the apron or the salt and pepper. great to keep on the table all the time. >> next a knife set. you wouldn't think giving your mom a gift of knives. but something they wouldn't buy for themselves. >> these are fun. >> they're wild. >> $38, amazon.com. and it's a way to cook in style. especially if you're having visitors. just a great conversation piece. >> very cute. also if you're having visitors and you have some food you want to keep cool you found this chill salad bowl. >> from crate and barrel. $11.95. you see here, everything fits in. so if you're going on a picnic. and there's a spot or an ice pack on the bottom. >> so it keeps everything cold. >> just a great gift if you want to go travel a little bit. >> perfect. >> have a little picnic. >> how every mom loves jewelry. you found a lot of great ideas starting off with these beautiful bangles that have a little personal touch. >> how pretty. just to layer and put on on its own, $48.

cwonder.com. >> a couple initials. >> and you can put the kids' initials. this is for the very groovy mom. >> for the rocker mom. >> so you see you can put it on leather or you can put it on silk and pick all different things. there's inishials, different signs. can you personalize these. but this is for your mom who is the rockout mom. >> that's true. >> you can layer them up. >> we like those ideas. more little gooind finds here, bracelets, necklaces. >> this is maya brenner and it's 14 karat gold. this is so great, i want you to take a look. there's initials on each of those. you can get "l" and "j" for luke and josh. and in the earrings, you have one "m." you can do "l" and "j." >> so nice of you to find me mother's day gifts. >> but you can do your kid's gifts. i love that idea. >> perfect. okay. and then you got more over here. these are -- >> mother/daughter matching

jewelry. they have the mommies and the daughters starting at $32 at adina designs. >> these great silk bows which you can either wear as a bow or an accessory on a blazer. >> you can wear it on your dress and then you can also wear it in your hair. look. >> very nice. >> so this is an inexpensive gift for a child to give mommy. >> love, love. >> you can never go wrong with anything -- >> smells so good. >> a lot of special edition things out. and affordable starting at $35. comes beautifully wrapped. >> drawer scents to room diffusers. >> you got it. >> okay and for the puppy, because every mom knows that you know the dog is also a member of the family. >> my dog bella rules. so my mother would love it. dog sweaters for every size dog. and these are expression pacifiers for the new mommy. and then all mommy/daughter matching. these are celebrity inspired, so

courteney cox, a lot of celebrities are doing this and part of the proceeds go to charity. >> that's a great thing. >> over here, you can pair them with your matching bathing suits and cover jaws. >> these are from incas. how cute is that? and calista saint bart if you look over there, matching tunics. i always love seeing mommy and daughters on the beach together. >> don't they have mommy/son boy trunks? >> yeah, you could do a little bit. >> thank you so much. >> happy mother's day. >> two weeks away. but from mother's day gift ideas check out "us weekly." up next one thing mom will appreciate is breakfast from scratch. we've got some easy recipes in "today's kitchen."

this morning in "today's kitchen," breakfasts easy as one, two, three. if you are planning to whip up a special breakfast for mom, you don't have to spend all morning in the kitchen. >> our favorite d.c. lawyer

turned baker is back, juan brown brings nor love to the kitchen this morning. author of the book "cake love in the morning." >> any time of day. >> any time. we're doing it in the morning. it's the new book. it's a new day all the time. >> a lot of folks intimidated by making waffles. in fact you shouldn't be. >> they shouldn't be at all. it's a couple different steps. we've got egg yolks and sugar. whip that up. >> you're totally from scratch here. >> totally from scratch. you have to have your egg whites nicely whipped up, and you can set those aside. fold those in jaently at the end. >> why do you want to do that? >> you want to have a lot of air and folding it in makes sure you don't kind of crush the whole batter. >> puffier? >> nice and light. and you also have to make sure you use the right amount of flour, right amount of salt. >> nice. >> baking powder. >> is that a special kind of flour? >> cake flour i think works really well. nice, white flour, all-purpose will work but maybe lighten that up a little bit with potato

starch or cornstarch. >> this is not just your ordinary waffle, this is a white chocolate waffle? >> what did you say, natalie? >> not gist your ordinary waffle. >> white chocolate waffle. i'm going to add in some half and half. i like a little bit of extra when i'm adding. it's quite good. we'll do the milk -- i'm sorry half and half and vanilla. then we will put in our cake flour. >> okay. >> salt and baking powder. >> wow. >> it can be kind of involved. but it's worth it. it really is. if you want to fold in. >> how do you fold in? i honestly don't know. are you folding in right then? maybe i shouldn't do it. >> just going around and just very lightly kind of combining the flour and all the egg yolks and the sugar. then we'll add in our egg whites, which takes some time. and if we don't get to that we have our batter. >> don't worry, savannah. this is no fail. >> you're doing it very well.

>> i am? >> you've got to go around the bowl. >> and fold the egg whites in there. >> we'll fold our egg whites in. >> but if you want to show that stuff, i could take all day. >> one thing you'll notice too is egg whites have a tendency to lose a lot of the moisture once you whip them. sometimes you have to give a little bit of an extra -- >> we want to get to the back. the big prop people always make too much batter in the waffle iron. >> i take this is about a quarter cup which is right how much this ladle is. >> so don't fill it all the way up. >> you don't want to fill it all the way up. if you have a little bit of spillage, that's okay. >> sometimes it looks like a volcano erupting. >> that can happen. you've got to follow your waffle iron's instructions. it will usually chirp when it's ready. sometimes the waffle irons that are nonstick, they don't give you that crispness that you want. >> they don't. >> look for the old-fashioned ones. >> you put the white chocolate on top afterwards? >> the white chocolate curls. >> i've got a quiche. some shallots, we're sauteing those. the shallots we're going to add

to our eggs. >> and the pie crust you say you blind bake? >> lightly toast our crust. just turn that off. our crust is in the oven, we have to pierce it a couple times with a fork and then put some kind of weights on top of it. a lot of times they take like beans, but i like to just use parchment paper -- >> then it looks something like this. >> and sticky buns. >> all right. >> a very nice yeast dough. cinnamon and ginger and a little bit of chocolate and bananas. >> nice. >> so great. >> all these repies on our website "today."com. thank you so much. >> still ahead, kathie lee and hoda. >> and a battleground on the boy's.